Orlando bids for ACC title contest

May 25, 2003|By George Diaz, Tribune Newspapers: Orlando Sentinel.

Given the likelihood of the Atlantic Coast Conference expanding to 12 teams, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer sent a letter to ACC Commissioner John Swofford lobbying for Orlando as the venue for a conference championship football game.

Assuming Miami joins the ACC, the conference would have two Florida teams, the Hurricanes and Florida State, among its top-tier schools. That may give central Florida some leverage in trying to get the title game in the Citrus Bowl in December.

Also factoring into Orlando's networking advantages is Tom Mickle, executive director of Florida Citrus Sports. He used to be associate commissioner of the ACC and maintains strong ties with conference officials.

"Orlando is a natural site," Dyer said. "Atlanta was a natural for them, but since the SEC is playing [its championship game] there already and two Florida teams are likely going to be in the ACC, Orlando in the first week of December sounds like a pretty nice place to play."

Jacksonville, Charlotte and possibly Baltimore also are expected to be among the cities interested in hosting an ACC title game.

One potential sticking point is that the Mid-American Conference holds its championship game at a campus site, meaning Central Florida, which plays its home games at the Citrus Bowl, could host the MAC final on the same weekend the ACC game would be held.